In Manhattan, Sexual Assault Is (Un)Officially A Worse Crime Than Murder

September 12, 2012

We hate to say it, but if you’re planning on violently sexually assaulting another human being, you’d be better off murdering them first.

Not that we condone violently sexually assaulting or murdering anyone, but in Manhattan, the punishment for murder is often less severe than the punishment for predatory sexual assault, which has led to some extremely lengthy prison time for several sadistic rapists.

The latest monster to never see the light of day again is 36-year-old Marquis Phillips, who was sentenced yesterday to 78 years to life in prison for the despicable sexual assault of a woman at a Manhattan apartment complex.

“Today’s sentence reflects the brutal manner in which the defendant
violated an innocent young woman in her own building,” District Attorney
Cy Vance says. “This defendant received a significant prison sentence
for each count of the horrifying crimes he committed, and New Yorkers
have been made safer as a result. I would like to thank the victim for
her bravery.”

Pena’s crimes are pretty depraved — on
the morning of August 19, a drunken Pena attacked the 25-year-old victim
in the courtyard at an apartment building at 83 Park Terrace. Using his
NYPD-issued pistol, Pena threatened the victim into going into the
courtyard, where he sexually assaulted her repeatedly in broad daylight.

Pena was caught at the scene — still zipping up his pants.

Forensic investigators found traces of the victim’s DNA on Pena’s penis, and Pena’s DNA on the victim’s underwear.

In
both cases, the victims came away from the attacks with their lives.
The rapists, however, will likely die in prison — neither is eligible
for parole until serving at least 75 or 78 years in prison,
respectively.

On July 7, 2009, Pabon, who was working as a freight elevator operator at an
office building at 2 Rector Street — where victim Eridania Rodriguez also worked as a
member of the cleaning staff — followed Rodriguez to the 8th floor
of the building, where he attacked her and suffocated her with
industrial tape. He then used the freight elevator that he
operated to move body to the 12th floor and hide it in an
air duct. Rodriquez’s body was found four days later.

It goes without saying that each of these men are monsters who belong
in prison. However, something just seems fundamentally wrong when a
murderer
gets a lesser sentence than a non-murderer — regardless of how
horrific his crime may be. Unfortunately, under the law, Pabon could
only be sentenced to concurrent sentences for the kidnapping and murder
charges — and his sentence is the maximum sentence allowed under the
law. The judges in Pena’s and Phillips’ cases, however, had the authority to sentence
them to consecutive sentences for the
predatory sexual assault counts, which is why they’ll
be spending the rest of their lives behind bars.

Pena’s Phillips’ victim went through a horrific ordeal — one we wouldn’t wish
on anyone. But she came out of it alive. The same can’t be said for
Rodriguez, whose children will now grow up without a mother.

That said, Pabon will be eligible for for parole when he’s roughly 50 years old.